The Voice
by Aldebaran8423
Summary: On August 5th, 2041, Infiltration Unit Zeta makes a fateful decision....posted in celebration of Zee's Independence Day!


**Author**: Aldebaran  
**Title**: The Voice  
**Length**: 300 words  
**Status**: Complete  
**Date Written: **June 1, 2007  
**Disclaimer**: "The Zeta Project" was created by Robert Goodman. The episode "Lost and Found" was written by Randy Rogel. "The Zeta Project" and the characters associated with it belong to DC Comics. This story was written for entertainment purposes only.

**Author's Note Part One:** To celebrate Zee's Independence Day, the day Zeta refused to kill an innocent man and started his run for freedom on August 5th, 2041, here is a drabble which was originally written for a challenge on the Knossos Forum.

The Knossos Forum is a message board for Zeta Project fans, and can be found at tzpknossos(dot)proboards53(dot)com/. If the address for the forum is not clear to you or you have any questions, you can email me through FanFiction's email service. The original drabble is found in the Fan Fiction section of the forum, in the thread titled "Drabble Challenge 1: The Dolans". There are lots of other good drabbles there that have not yet been posted in FFN, so go check them out!

And as always, I hope you'll let me know your reaction to my story by leaving a review!

**Author's Note Part Two:** The second portion of this author's note provides a brief synopsis of portions of the Zeta Project episode "Lost and Found" which introduced Eugene Dolan and his family. The synopsis contains spoilers for the episode, as does the drabble.

This story was written for the drabble prompt "The Dolans". The Dolans were introduced to us in flashback in the episode "Lost and Found" where it was revealed that in the past, on a mission for the government, Infiltration Unit Zeta had been posing as Eugene Dolan, an accountant suspected of being part of the Brother's Day domestic terrorist organization. Zeta had "become" Eugene Dolan to infiltrate Dolan's workplace and find out information on the terrorist group. Failing to find any information linking Dolan to the group, Zeta proceeded to Dolan's home and spent time with Dolan's wife, Adrian, and his young daughter, Becca. The next day, back at Dolan's workplace, Zeta overheard a conversation between two Brother's Day operatives that indicated Dolan was not connected with the group. Dolan was innocent of any wrongdoing. Shortly after this conversation, Dolan returned unexpectedly from a business trip and encountered his exact double—the deadly Infiltration Unit Zeta. Zeta's secrecy had been compromised; the infiltration unit programming directed that the target—Dolan—be eliminated…

O

Zeta knew that time was a constant. It was counted out in seconds corresponding to the measured beats of the human heart and it could not be changed. Yet there, in that moment, with the acrid stench of fear from the cowering man at the back of the elevator filling the air, time--expanded. The secrecy imperative, pulsing and compelling Zeta's actions to this point, receded in a slow wash of memories… Sweete's voice proclaiming Dolan's innocence, Adrian's low laughter, Becca's trusting green eyes. And, beneath the high thrum of the secrecy imperative, beneath even the equally strong survival imperative was...the voice.

Zeta had heard the voice before, on rare, treasured occasions. It spoke again now, saying: _You have a choice. You can let this man go. He doesn't have to die at your hands. You have a choice._

More intoxicating than the content of the voice's message was the use of the coveted pronoun: "you". Infiltration Units were never addressed as "you" nor were they allowed to refer to themselves as "I" except when in a mission persona. It was all part of the protocol followed to keep these highly advanced artificial intelligences from achieving a dangerous sense of self. In that expanded moment, in the slow wash of memories, Zeta listened to the voice, savoring being addressed as "you", daring to dream of calling itself "I"…

The voice spoke again. You _have a choice. You can be free. Release Dolan. Run._

In that instant, Zeta made his decision. Dolan would live. Zeta would run. He would run. _I will be free. _

He barely knew what he said to the man as he hit the controls of the elevator, stowed his weapon, turned toward the open doors leading to the road to independence, so loudly was freedom calling…


End file.
